AUDIT: DCFS FAILED TO IMPLEMENT REFORMS
Nearly a year after law named for toddler was passed, agency says it’s making progress
SPRINGFIELD — Ta’Naja Barnes was 2 years old when she was found wrapped in a urine-soaked blanket amid rodent droppings, garbage and rotting food.
The temperatures dipped to 45 degrees inside the Decatur home on Feb. 11, 2019, the day Ta’Naja was found. Medical personnel couldn’t get a temperature reading from Ta’Naja. She was too cold.
An autopsy revealed the former Department of Children and Family Services ward died from neglect, malnutrition and hypothermia.
DCFS had been involved with Ta’Naja and her family for more than half of her life after allegations of abuse and neglect. Ta’Naja had already spent two stints in foster care before her case was closed, and she was returned to live with her mother six months before her death.
Ta’Naja’s death led to a law named in her honor that requires DCFS to complete home safety checks before and after a child is returned to their parents and to provide aftercare to the child and their family for at least six months after their return home.
Nearly a year after the law’s passage, a state auditor found that DCFS has yet to implement it.
“I’m really not surprised,” said state Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, who sponsored Ta’Naja’s Law. “This is what we feared all along was happening, but this audit just confirms it.”
Despite the findings in the audit released on Thursday, DCFS officials said they have and are continuing to take aggressive measures to improve services and care to keep children safe.
“We have trained thousands of workers, expanded resources to support the child welfare system and addressed the many hiring and staffing challenges facing child welfare organizations,” said DCFS spokesman William McCaffery.
He said DCFS had previously identified that its data tracking systems were outdated, limiting the agency’s ability to track new requirements.
“As a result, DCFS was already undertaking significant steps to address these issues, including a complete replacement of the department’s child welfare information systems,” he said.
The audit found DCFS was unable to provide home safety checklists, which are mandated when a child leaves state care to be returned to their home, in 192 of 195 cases studied.
The checklist contains basic safety information, such as whether the house has smoke detectors and whether poisons and firearms are secured. It also requires caseworkers to check a box that they discussed with the parents the consequences of shaking a baby and leaving a child with an appropriate caretaker, if necessary.
The law states that “at a minimum,” DCFS must complete a home safety checklist one day prior to a child’s return home and again within five working days after a child’s return. Checklists must be completed every month thereafter until the child’s case is closed.
The auditor found that checklists are not being completed as required by the law, and the checklists had not been updated with new required language that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
The law also mandates that DCFS provide aftercare services to the child and the child’s family beginning the date the parent regains custody and continuing for at least six months.
Per DCFS policy, 30 days before a child is scheduled to return home, DCFS holds a meeting to determine services and develop an aftercare plan. The plan is presented for approval to the court so services will be in place when the court orders the child to be returned home.
Those services can include counseling, case management, physical, behavioral and mental health services, and substance abuse services.
The audit found that in the 50 cases surveyed, 29 did not have at least six months of documented aftercare services. DCFS also failed to update their procedures to reflect the changes in the law for more than a year after it went into effect. About 18 percent of those cases surveyed found no documentation that services were provided at all.
DCFS stated in a response that they can recommend services, but if a family refuses them, the department’s response depends on the risk involved and the legal status of the case.
The audit also found deficiencies in medical and dental check-ups for children in DCFS care. Of 50 cases, the auditor found 18 percent of the children hadn’t had at least one medical check-up, 14% had not had a vision checkup, 56% had not undergone a hearing exam and 88% had not had a dental exam.
Twanka Davis, Ta’Naja’s mother, pleaded guilty to her daughter’s murder and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. Davis’ boyfriend, Anthony Myers, also was convicted in Ta’Naja’s death and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
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